Mizuko ran as far as she could until she collapsed in a small clearing. Her throat was dry and burned every time she tried to breathe. It was a miracle she had even managed to run this far. She looked back the way she'd come, un-nerved to see that no one was there.

Where's Inuyasha...? He should've been here by now... she thought worriedly. Maybe I should go back. I doubt I'll be able to do much, but...it's the effort that matters...right?

"Ok! I'm going!" she said confidently, before starting back through the forest. She stumbled precariously over roots and fallen logs, trying to keep track of her direction. After a short while, she came to a split in the stamped out path. She glanced down both ways, confused. There hadn't been a split like this when she'd come from the base.

Maybe I just didn't notice... she thought. Yeah...that's it! Temporarily convinced, she started down the right path. It seemed like the right direction to go, since the trees looked familiar to her. She must've come this way. She hummed quietly to herself, proud that she'd figured out which route to take.

Then the road stopped; a dead end

The area in front of her was over-run with tangled vines, and branches, and brush that were almost taller than she was. There was no way she could've gotten through all that.

"Uh oh." she whispered, the reality sinking in. She was nowhere near the base, and now she was hopelessly lost. "I-Inuyasha?!" she shouted fearfully, hoping he would hear her. Praying desperately that he was somewhere nearby.

Something responded, but it was definitely not Inuyasha. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as something rushed at her. Before she could turn around, a hand was covering her mouth and a brief sharp pain pulsed through her neck. Then everything went dark... 

"Are you sure you know where you're going?!"

Inuyasha growled under his breath. Seichi had been purposely annoying him since they'd left the base.

"Obviously you don't. Because if you did, we would've found Mizuko by now." Seichi retorted hotly. "Face it, mutt, you've been leading us in circles."

Seichi pointed at a dagger stuck in one of the trees; there were hatch marks in the trunk near the weapon. "You've been going in circles." He stated again. "Whatever took her did this on purpose to confuse brainless demons like you. It's a simple trick even a preschooler can figure out."

Seichi brushed off the threat and started walking. He pulled a small, hand-held device not much larger than a cell phone out of his bag and slowly moved along the trail Inuyasha had been leading them on.

"What the hell is that?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

"A portable tracking system." Seichi said, not looking up from what he was doing. "It can catalog, identify, and trace the unique patterns left by an individual. All demon abilities have been conformed into various technologies that Slayers can obtain with ease."

"This is why people like you really piss me off." Inuyasha grumbled. "All you do is kill demons so you can make yourselves more powerful. Why not just turn all humans into demons. It'd save you the trouble of having to round us all up."

"As if we'd want to be demoted to your level, half breed." Seichi said coldly. "Being turned into a demon is the cruelest fate that can befall a human."

He looked up when the machine located a second source of Mizuko's scent. "They went this way!" he shouted before taking off.

Mizuko groaned softly as a drop of water fell onto her face. Still half asleep she grumbled under hear breath and tried to continue sleeping until more splashed on her face. She grumbled again in protest and sat up as she rubbed away the dampness.

It took several minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and saw she was in what seemed to be an old cave.

Musty water dripped from the crumbling stagmites above her head and fell into small pools formed by corroding rock. The air was thick and wreaked of still water. Mizuko quickly tried to get to her feet, and, collapsed backwards against a slimy wall.

Her legs were wobbly, and she could barely keep herself up. She dug her nails into the wall -trying to keep herself from vomiting- and forced herself to walk out of the chamber.

There's gotta be an exit somewhere...! She thought anxiously. Dang it, where's Inuyasha?!

She wandered aimlessly down corridor after corridor, trying to find a way out. Occasionally she noticed large amounts of demon bones scattered around her, and her fear slowly escalated. The narrow corridor slowly expanded out into a large chamber. Large piles of corpses surrounded her on every side. The ones closest to her were only bones, and she was grateful it was too dark to see the other piles. One pile towards the center seemed larger than the rest, and she could make out a silhouette that looked almost human.

Mizuko took a deep breath and stalked over to the remains. A large demon that vaguely resembled a grotesque mutated snake made up most of its form; it's still decaying jaws clamped around the body of what appeared to be a woman. Her skin had a brow leathery look, petrified from so many years of being within the cave. Empty eye sockets stared down at Mizuko, and she felt her stomach lurch when she was the gaping hole in the woman's chest.

She turned on her heel and ran back the way she'd come, trying to get away from the remains. She could hear a faint clattering noise behind her, like something was running across the bones in the other chamber. Her heartbeat escalated as she tried to run faster. She didn't dare to look back at whatever was pursuing her, in fear that what she'd seen something that would make her stop.

Her foot caught on a protruding stone and she fell head-first into the ground. Her attacker lunged forward as she struggled to get back on her feet. She looked back and saw a deformed hunched over human. It had 4 extra arms and eyes all over its forehead, much like a spider would. She cringing in pain as the monster's claws dug into her should and she realized with a pang of fear that the demon hadn't moved any closer; its arm had stretched.

Its lips pulled back to reveal large crooked fangs before its neck stretched forward and it bit down hard into her neck and shoulder.

"MIZUKO!!!"

The demon pulled away and turned as Seichi ran towards it, with Inuyasha not too far behind. It grinned gleefully and tossed Mizuko's limp body aside; she crashed into the stone wall and fell into a heap on the ground. Seichi ground his teeth together and ran towards the demon. The monster tried to dodge the attack, but was overcome by Seichi's superior speed. He brought down the mighty axe with the speed of a guillotine and cleaved the demon in half, tearing through bone and muscle with ease.

Inuyasha slid to a halt, staring at the human with a look of shock on his face. He'd seen humans fight many times in the past. But the way Seichi fought, the ease he had cutting the demon down with one blow, it almost seemed inhuman. In fact, it was almost like a...

It took all of Seichi's control to keep himself from losing what remained of his sanity and going on a rampage. He squinted against the red haze that had come over his eyes, trying to regain control. He'd never had it be this bad before. He ran over and gently lifted Mizuko off the ground. Her pale face had a dark pink flush from fever, and burned against his arm where it rested.

As carefully as he could, he started to pick Mizuko up, until she let out a small cry of pain. It aggravated him more than he'd expected. He hated not being able to do anything for her.

"Damnit. This is all your fault, stupid mutt!" he snapped at Inuyasha. "The only reason this happened was because you told her to leave the base!!"

"How does that make this my fault?! She could've gotten hurt back there too, and there were MORE demons back there!!" Inuyasha protested.

Seichi glared at the half demon, until he heard Mizuko's soft pained cry. The panic quickly extinguished the rage and he got to his feet.

"We have to no time for this. I need to get Mizuko to a hospital." Seichi said.

"There is an herb that grows nearby that'll dilute poisons. I'll find it.' Inuyasha said.

"Oh, really? Do you know EXACTLY where it grows? Did you see some on the way here?" Seichi asked sarcastically. Inuyasha didn't answer. "We don't have time to be searching for some random plant. Mizuko needs medical attention NOW."

"This means we also don't have time to get her to a doctor. The next town is at least two days away. Finding the herbs is our fastest option." Inuyasha said gravely. Seichi looked down at Mizuko; she was already looking worse.

"Alright, fine. You'd better know what you're doing, half breed." Seichi warned. Inuyasha nodded and led them away from the cave. Mizuko groaned in pain as Seichi ran behind Inuyasha, making him panic more. After a few minutes Inuyasha stopped them in a small area clear of vegetation.

"Take care of her here. It'll be faster if I go alone." Inuyasha said, and then ran off.

Seichi grumbled under his breath and then looked at Mizuko. She was quieter now, which worried him more. He slowly got down onto his knees and sat her down. He looked at her for a moment, and then gently brushed his hand against the side of her face. It didn't seem like she could even tell. He frowned, and then got comfortable on the ground.

Knowing Inuyasha's mentality, it would probably take him till evening at least to find the herbs. This meant he had plenty of time to kill.

He sighed and then started rummaging through his bag, trying to think of what to do for the next couple of hours, when he heard a faint moaning sound. He glanced over just in time to see Mizuko's eyelids slowly flutter open. He immediately got up onto his knees and went over to her.

"Mizuko. How're you feeling?!" he asked anxiously. He knew it wasn't like him to sound so worried, and the confused look on Mizuko's face confirmed it.

"Cold." She replied quietly. Seichi laughed halfheartedly. She'd always been one to get straight to the point. He pulled out a jacket from his bag and put around her body; he had to lift her up off the ground to do so.

Mizuko pulled the rough cloth closer to her body, and then slumped against Seichi, resting her head on his chest. He was actually warmer to her than the jacket was.

"Why are you out here, Seichi...?" she asked quietly. He looked at her in bewilderment, tempted to bonk on the head if she'd not been injured.

"Why do you think?" he said in annoyance. "I came to get you, what else? You didn't actually think I'd let you stay out here with these animals...did you?!"

Mizuko was silent for a while. "...I...I didn't you really cared..." she answered. This time he did bonk her on the head, but only lightly.

"You really are an idiot, ya know that?" he said. She smiled slightly, and then moved closer to him. It still surprised her that he hadn't tried to shove her away yet.

"Thanks Seichi. For caring..." she said, barely above a whisper.

Seichi looked at her for a moment, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Seichi nearly jumped, and he instantly yanked his arm away from Mizuko, which made her fall over. Inuyasha was standing in the clearing, one arm full of leafy plants. Seichi scowled.

"Oh. It's just you." he said, sounding disappointed.

Inuyasha growled and then motioned to the herbs. "We need to find a river or something, so we can clean the wound and stoke the herbs in-"

Seichi chucked a water bottle at the demon's head, and smirked as it almost knocked him over. "Will that work for you, Mutt?" he asked sarcastically. Inuyasha huffed and yanked the lid off and a chunk of the actual bottle as well. Seichi sighed and helped Mizuko up. He took out another bottle, since he didn't want to bother with the demon's mangled one, and dampened a strip of cloth he'd torn from his shirt.

After he'd managed to clean up what remained of the blood, Inuyasha came over to with the medicine. Mizuko looked down at the now reddish brown liquid with a look of nervous disgust on her face.

"Y'mean I have to drink this??" she asked hesitantly. Seichi looked at her for a moment, a bit surprised that she had enough strength left to question anything.

"Yeah. Trust me; it'll help you get better." Inuyasha said.

Mizuko stared at it for a moment longer before chugging it down. She choked on the medicine and made a face as she stared at the now empty bottle. "It tastes horrible!!" she complained.

"It's supposed to dilute poison, not taste like candy." Seichi said bluntly. Mizuko scowled at him, and then yawned quietly.

"I'm gonna go to sleep," she said as she got comfortable on the ground. Inuyasha nodded and then went over to a nearby tree. He looked over and saw that Seichi was still looking at Mizuko with a constricted look of concern on his face. He rolled his eyes and climbed up onto a low branch.

"Give it a rest, human. She'll be fine by morning." He said. Seichi didn't respond, but got comfortable on the ground to sleep. He'd need it for tomorrow.

Mizuko woke up early the next morning, and glanced up at the rising sun overhead. The sky was a colleague of pinks, gold's and blues, and the warm sunlight was barely peeking through the emerald leaves of the trees around them. She smiled slightly and then glanced over at the guys. They were both still fast asleep, and she realized that it was probably from worrying about her the day before. She sighed and then went for the food bag, hoping to find something she could use for breakfast. Cooking was, after all, one of the few things she COULD do without severely injuring herself. Or at least it was for now.

Seichi's eyes snapped open when he heard a loud crash and Mizuko's cry of panic. He sat up with a jolt and looked around the campsite. Mizuko was sitting next to the campfire, shaking her hand frantically, as if to quell pain. There was a long log beside her. Seichi sighed and went over to her.

"Injured yourself already?" he asked teasingly. She looked over at him and pouted.

"I was just trying to get the stupid log in the fire..." she grumbled. Seichi looked over at the log and then at the already blazing fire. It didn't seem like it needed any more fuel. Unless she was planning to burn down the whole forest.

"I have a better idea." He said. He picked up the log and then hurled it at the tree Inuyasha had been sleeping in. The piece of wood collided and split into several large chunks as the tree shook from the impact. Inuyasha let out a yelp of panic and fell out of the tree. "And that's how they invented the Alarm Clock." Seichi said smugly.  Inuyasha got his feet and growled at Seichi.

"Damn it, what the hell did you do that for?!" he snapped angrily.

"You were sleeping too long."

"It's barely morning, you bastard!! Damn! Don't you have anything better to do?!!"

Mizuko watched them argue back and forth. It was like watching someone argue with themselves in a mirror. She'd never thought they'd be so similar.

"Come on, Mizuko." Seichi said harshly as he roughly grabbed her arm and practically dragged her to one side of the clearing.

"HEY! Where the hell are you going with her!?" Inuyasha protested.

"Back to Tokyo of course." Seichi said coldly.

"Did you ever think that maybe she doesn't want to go back??" Inuyasha said angrily.

"That's retarded. There's no reason for her stay out here, except to get killed."

"She isn't exactly safe there either, ya know!! Face it, as soon as they see her, they're just going to send her out on another suicide mission and you know it!!"

"It won't be suicide. She'll be with me."

"LIKE THAT'LL DO ANY GOOD!! You couldn't even protect her doing that stupid TEST!!! What makes you think you could do it in a REAL battle?!!!"

Seichi glared at the demon, and then threw the halberd at him like a boomerang. Inuyasha narrowly missed the blade, and looked back to see it cleave through a tree. "I've been holding back on you, since you were taking care of Mizuko. But if you don't learn to keep your damn opinions to yourself, I WILL kill you." Seichi said coldly.

"I just think Mizuko should have a say in this..."

"Please, Mizuko isn't capable of making a decision like this." Seichi said dismissively. Mizuko's face turned red with anger, and she yanked her arm free from his grasp.

"I can too, choose!!" she protested as she walked in front of him. "And I've made my choice." She turned to look over her shoulder at Inuyasha and then back at Seichi with fierce determination.

"I'm staying with Inuyasha."